


Storytelling

by cairn



Series: Grander Narratives [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Invisible Kingdom | Revelation Route, Precious royals being precious, Self-Esteem Issues, Shyness, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 09:18:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8618743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cairn/pseuds/cairn
Summary: "She had been entranced. No fear - only shock, only awe. For he was terrifyingly beautiful, in the way that only villains can be."





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is incredibly long.... I promise the end is worth it.

Sakura had never been foolish. Shy - yes. Timid - yes. Socially embarrassed, unable to form coherent thoughts when prompted, fearful of battle, fearful in general, the least of her siblings by anyone's estimation - yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. But, at the very least, she had never considered herself foolish.

She was beginning to question this, however.

The ground had shaken underneath them when they had walked into the swamps between Hoshido and Nohr. Eerie smoke, like something from a puppetry show, had gushed from seemingly nowhere; rocks had trembled at her feet and graves creaked and cracked beneath her. She had not even been afraid, it was so sudden - so shocking. 

A black horse, clinking in armor; a black-cloaked person. Crown glinting at brow, hair moving slightly as he rode forwards, flanked only by the smoke, only by the shudder of death around him. Gold, silver, opals, and jewels that Sakura had no name for had made his armor flash even in the darkness of the swamp. He was all black and gold, and his ancient tomes thrummed with power that she could practically feel beating in her chest. She had watched shows as a child, when war was less imminent - plays, theater, kabuki - where thick masks of black and gold were painted on to the villain. And here he was, a villain in the flesh, in all his glory.

And, like the maiden in a puppetry show, she had been dressed all in pink and white, with healing staves and flowers in her hair. And like the maiden in one of those foolish shows she had loved until Hinoka (unknowingly) had ruined it all by snorting during one of shows and commenting on how stupid it all was, like the fainting princess of every fairy tale, she had been entranced. No fear - only shock, only awe. For he was terrifyingly beautiful, in the way that only villains can be. 

And she wished that had been the only foolish thought she had had. For, of course, there were more. 

Corrin had somehow convinced him and his brother to join them (or perhaps the brothers had joined themselves, but Takumi was often doubtful of this and tended to air his feelings about the matter loudly, muddying Sakura's understanding of the situation altogether). Sakura hadn't been present at the battle - after all, someone had to tend to the already-wounded - so she never truly understood the sequence of events. Did the brothers truly just ride in? And attack their own soldiers? ("Impossible," Takumi had scoffed, "there must be some conspiracy at work.") 

Regardless of how their arrival was presented, however, there was no denying that they were there, in the camp. Their soldiers walked alongside the soldiers from Hoshido; the two crown princes walked side by side. The first time she had met him was all too indicative of the mood that had settled across the camp. Stiff, overtly formal, with social interactions driven by the prevailing interests of cooperation at the expense of comfort.

"Hey! Sakura!" 

She had turned around, holding seven different rods in her hands, to see Elise waving at her over her armful of glinting metal and polished wood. "Oh, h-hello, Elise."

"Sakura, you have the best timing - don't move!" Elise had looked somewhere to her left and then back at Sakura, hair flying. "Stay right there!"

"Wait -" Sakura had blinked at the place where Elise had just been standing and then watched as the girl dashed off.

"Come on! You have to come meet her!" Elise's voice, coming from the tents she had just ran between. Sakura had frozen, pausing. Oh, gods. Meeting someone? This was not what she had thought Elise had meant. 

"Do I look like I have the time right now?" A voice - deeper, lightly irritated - and then Sakura had been confronted with Elise once again, dragging a person in black armor towards her. 

"Sakura, this is my brother, Leo!" Elise had grinned widely. "I've been trying to get him to meet you for ages, but he's always so busy." 

"Oh," Sakura had said, stiltedly. The staves she was carrying had felt strangely heavy in her arms, but that could have been the strange weight of his gaze on hers, the pull of her breath from her lungs as she realized it was him, the tomb-breaking one - and she had immediately looked to the ground instead. And then immediately realized that was incredibly rude and had tried to pull her eyes from the dirt and up to meet his face again, all the while aware she had broken some sort of protocol, and - gods, oh no, he was a prince, and what if he was really offended?

"It's a pleasure," Leo had said shortly, pulling his arm from Elise's grip with practice. The first time he had addressed her face to face.

Sakura had flushed, became all-too-aware she was flushing, and knew with terrible clarity that she was reddening further because of her realization. "Um. Yes, the pleasure is mine." A pause, uncomfortable, but only milliseconds. "I mean, the pleasure is also mine."

"And you know who this is, Leo - this is Princess Sakura!" Elise had said superfluously, either unaware or cheerily ignoring Sakura's wilting expression. "She's also a healer."

"Right." Leo had looked her over, evaluating, and Sakura had felt herself shrink visibly under his cool gaze. "I look forward to seeing your talents in battle, Lady Sakura. Stories paint you as quite the healer." 

"Oh, no," Sakura had stuttered, readjusting her grip on the staves, heavy and awkward in her arms, "I'm not anything - I'm - I'm sure the stories exaggerate."

"Well, I suppose that remains to be seen." Leo had nodded briskly. "If that is all, I must go to the strategy meeting."

"Leo! You can't just go!" Elise had interjected. 

"Actually, Elise, I can." Leo had fixed her with a frown, and Elise's expression had devolved into a pout in response. "And you should also be joining me. Strategy is a necessary part - "

"Nooo way," the Nohrian princess had interrupted quickly, "Stop right there. I'm not going."

"Then there is no reason for me to convince you," Leo had said, "and no reason for you to complain now that I am allowing you to play hooky, especially as you should be doing something more valuable with your time."

Elise had pointedly pushed out her bottom lip and looked in the opposite direction of him.

"Are you going to the strategy meeting, Lady Sakura?" Sakura had stiffened at his words, his voice saying her name.

"I-I have to take these to the - the storage tent to be sorted," Sakura had said tentatively, not quite meeting his eyes and instead settling for looking at his shadow, stretching across the ground his left.

"And afterwards?" 

Sakura remembered, vividly, wondering why he was being so pushy. Why was it his business what she did? It wasn't his business, at all. The strategy meeting was important, yes, but it really wasn't his problem if she went or not. "I'm… not sure."

"I see." Leo's words were a blunt force; his tone clearly demonstrated that he had made a decision about her and found her wanting. "If that is all, then, I should go."

"Um. Well." Sakura had finally been able to look away, face burning. "It was, um, a nice - it was nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Leo had nodded in recognition, and then turned to walk away, cape flicking behind him.

Sakura had also moved to turn around, but her hands, slick with nerves, had not fully cooperated, and two of her staves slipped from her grasp. "Ah!" 

"Oh no!" Elise had hurried over, irritation forgotten. "Are you okay?"

"I'm - I'm fine," Sakura had stuttered, trying to bend over with all of the other staves clutched in her hands. In the end, she had to accept the staves from Elise, who had easily bent down and offered them with a grin. 

"I'm sorry about Leo," she had said as she passed the staves over. "He can be a little mean, but he does mean well."

Sakura had forced a little smile. "Yes, thank you Elise." 

"I mean it!" Elise had frowned at her. "You look a little… I don't know. Scared."

"I'm - I'm just sh-shy." Sakura had stumbled over her words as her flush kicked into high gear once again at the Nohrian's quick evaluation of her mental state. Yukimura had always told her it was best to be impassive when dealing with the enemy. And here she was, completely transparent once again. Always.

Years of lessons - archery, tea ceremony, diplomacy, history, literature, military strategy, law, etiquette, calligraphy, dancing, rod use, even some small amounts of sword-fighting when she was very young and some still expected her to become a second Hinoka - had been drilled into Sakura. And yet, somehow, whenever she was confronted with him, the lessons slid away from her. 

All of the things she knew that she knew were gone. 

"You're reading." 

Sakura had jumped halfway out of her seat, causing the pages of her book to flutter at the sudden motion. 

"Oh. Forgive me. I didn't mean to startle you." Him. Blonde hair, slightly tousled from the winds outside. Familiar black armor, but missing his chest plate and circlet today. An inquiring expression - and she realized she was staring.

Sakura had flushed, fumbled with her book, and then slowly lowered it onto her lap. "It's f-fine. I was just reading."

"Yes, I can see that." She had blushed further. Gods. What was she even trying to do when she spoke to him? Why were her words always the wrong way around?

"What are you reading?" He had walked further into the tent and dropped into one of the seats hastily thrown around the small space. It was the brainchild of Nyx, originally - a library, fashioned and scaled-down for their times on the road - and it was mostly composed of magic tomes with war strategy thrown in. Sakura had brought her own book in, had been looking to avoid company. The only people who sought out the library, as far as she had seen in the past, were Nyx (who was likely to avoid her altogether) and Mozu (who appeared too tongue-tied to approach her). 

"Um. It's a history book." Sakura had rubbed one of the pages between her fingers, nervous at his proximity.

"I didn't know we had Hoshidan history books here." Leo had leaned over, and she had immediately, unconsciously, leaned away. She had regretted her action before she had even met his eyes the split second afterwards, had even seen the surprised expression that flashed across his face. He had sat back upright before she could formulate something to say, had offered her a tight smile. "Ah. My apologies."

"N-N- No," Sakura stuttered frantically, "Um, I - I'm sorry."

"It is natural, perhaps." Leo had nodded slowly at her. "I understand." 

Had he, Sakura later wondered, or had he just associated his ideas of her thoughts with those of her brother Takumi? Her fingers had fluttered at the book's binding, and she read the same sentence four times without seeing it, mostly because she had kept sending glances back in his direction.

Nonetheless, there was a strange detachment to the moment, as she had watched him pick up a tome beside him - a magical one, she had noted mechanically - and began to read. The contrast between his hair, his complexion, and his clothing drew one's eyes to him. His presence, commanding, regal, the definition of someone in command of himself, was no less difficult to ignore. She had turned back to her book, but the history of Hoshido, painted out slowly in achingly intricate characters, was no longer interesting.

"If - If you would like to read it, I can leave it here when I am done with it," she had said softly.

His hand had paused, halfway through turning a page, and then he had deliberately set the page down, looked up at her. "Would you?"

She had fidgeted. Was the question some sort of test? "Yes."

"It is from your personal collection, isn't it?" 

"Yes," she had said, all the more quietly.

"Isn't that dangerous information for a Nohrian to have?" he had asked. His expression had been dark - narrowed eyes, the barest of wry smiles on his lips. Feline-like, she had thought. 

"It's - we're all allies now." Sakura had felt the pulse at her wrists beating quickly. 

"Hm. In a sense, yes." He had eyed her carefully. Evaluatingly. 

Sakura had flushed, again. "In - In a sense?"

"It depends on who you ask," Leo had said, a little twist to his smile that made her think he had heard both the opposing views at length.

A silence descended upon them. Sakura had looked firmly at her book, head almost rooted in place, unable to look upwards at him. There was nothing to say to his words. She too had heard both perspectives. Corrin and Elise championed their allied team with excitement; Takumi was the extreme voice of dissent. Most other views she had heard fell somewhere in the middle.

"What would you say?" she had asked, eyes still on the words of her book.

"Hm?" She had glanced upwards to see him raise an eyebrow at her.

"I - I asked." Her voice had broken off suddenly, embarrassingly. Sakura had cleared her throat, swallowed. "I asked if - I was wondering what you would say."

"About what?" 

"About being allies." 

Leo had looked at her once again in the way she would come to think of as his acknowledging gaze. Sakura would discover that he had a way of looking at someone like he was seeing them more clearly than anyone else could. He could do it in a way that was not evaluating, or rude, or condescending - Sakura had envied him this gaze. 

"For the moment, we are allies. If my brother decides it is more appropriate for us to no longer be allies, and his logic is sound, then we will no longer be allies." He had nodded shortly. "That is my opinion."

"That's…" Sakura had fumbled for words. "I mean..."

"Yes?" 

Sakura had flushed at his prompting and physically turned away from him slightly. "I mean - don't you think it's a little h-hard to be in that uncertain of a situation?"

"Uncertain?" Leo had raised an eyebrow. "What about it is uncertain?"

"It's just…" Sakura had blinked at her page. "You- You're never certain of what side you'll end up on tomorrow. If all you're relying on is - is your brother."

"Speaking from personal experience, are we?" 

Sakura had jolted upright, startled. Leo's expression was one of quiet mirth. 

"Th-That's not true," Sakura had protested. 

"Oh, really?" He had shut the book on his lap then, and spread his hand over the cover.

"I-I joined Corrin myself," Sakura had said, lips trembling but gaze steady. "Before Ryoma - or - or Takumi."

"But Corrin is also your brother, isn't he?" Leo had folded his arms. "Isn't that somewhat of a similar situation? Who knows where he's leading us or what his real purpose is?"

"Do you not trust him?" Sakura's expression had clouded.

Leo snorted. "We'll see."

Sakura had looked at him that second, caught his eyes. He had stared back at her, levelly - not even inquiring why she was looking at him, merely meeting her gaze. Sakura had quickly dropped her head to her page again, cheeks beginning to flush while her head still buzzed in confusion. Did he not trust Corrin? Was he lying? Joking with her? Toying with her? She still hadn't turned the page when, a few minutes later, he had stood up - "Good day, Princess Sakura," - and left the tent, carrying his book with him.

She hadn't finished her book, but all the same she had left it there for him that day. And the next time she had returned to the library, it was gone.

"Fascinating, but rather disparaging to Nohr considering our losses in the wars that occurred just before the feudal era." 

Sakura had just about tripped at his voice, so close behind her. "Wh-What?" She had spun around, and been greeted immediately with the book she had left for him.

Leo's mouth had twisted upwards, just about grinning. "Your book?" 

"Oh, y-yes." Sakura took it with both hands, carefully, even though he had offered it with one. "Thank you."

"I do appreciate the chance to read something so rare, however." Leo had smiled fully at her this time. "So. My thanks."

"You're welcome," she had said, folded the book in her arms. It was warm from his grasp on it just seconds before.

"If you would like," he had offered, and she had known before he continued that it was an offer, because his eyes had grown slightly softer, "I could lend you something from my personal collection."

"Lend me?" A meaningless repetition, but he had smiled just a bit wider.

"If you would like." 

Sakura had blinked, and then her mouth had stuttered into a smile as well. "I - I think I would. If you're offering, I will - I'll accept."

"Excellent." He had folded his arms, but his entire demeanor had lightened. "What do you know of military strategy?"

"W-What?" 

"Military strategy. Did you have to read the Art of War? I assume so, so I was going to recommend a different classic - the Nohrian interpretation of it." Leo was looking somewhere slightly behind her, but he looked ready to list a few hundred other texts should she ask.

Sakura had ran through her various classes, thinking of names of books. "Um. I think I've read excerpts." 

"But not the whole thing?" Leo's eyebrows had raised, and Sakura had flushed immediately.

"Um. N-No, I don't think so." She had run her fingers nervously over the back cover of her book. 

"You should. All of military strategy is based on it - it's incredibly important to understand when planning your moves during battle." 

"Well, I-I guess I don't normally…" Sakura's words had caught in her throat. She cleared it, fighting to ignore his gaze on her. "Normally no one - no one asks me to plan strategy, so…"

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't understand it." Leo had been frowning lightly. "I'm really surprised your family never made you read it."

"That's…" Sakura was red, now, and she had known it, but she didn't know how to end the sentence.

"Do you not wish to understand military strategy? If you're uninterested, I won't bother." Leo's words had been blunt, and they hit Sakura with all the impact words could have.

"N-No, I-I do." Sakura had stumbled through the sentence, but had forced herself to look at him firmly all the same. "I always - I mean, I think it's just because - people don't think I should read it because I'm not a fighter. But I - I think I should."

"Hm." Leo had nodded smartly. "Yes. I agree. I'll lend you my copy then." 

"Thank you." Sakura had said the words before she remembered her politeness, and then, remembering herself, made a shallow bow in his direction.

"No. It is common courtesy." Leo waved a hand. "There is no need to thank me."

"Still." Sakura had not raised her eyes, slightly tilted forward.

"Well then, you are welcome." She had straightened to greet another slight smile written across his face. His eyes were warm, and Sakura had paused to see what had once frightened her now made the warmth of her breath catch in her throat.

She soon had learned that when his dark eyes would catch hers, whatever she had been thinking of was immediately lost. She had handed him The Art of War back and bowed once again, rising only to see him smile at her fully for the first time, and had stuttered a fast goodbye to mask the quickening of her heart. They had discussed shogi and go and their differences; his eyes had crinkled at the edges when she had recounted a loss in shogi to Takumi with sudden candor, and she had had to stop halfway through her tale to flush.

She had walked into the library one day to discover him poring over a black and white checked board, pieces scattered throughout it seemingly without reasoning. "O-Oh. Prince Leo. Good day."

"Princess Sakura," he had acknowledged, looking up fully to give her a small grin. She had immediately fidgeted and moved towards the side of the room on a false pretense of reading the spines lined up in one of the bookshelves.

"Looking for something?"

She had turned back to see him fiddle with one of the pieces in front of him. "Um. Well, kind of."

"If you're not busy, I'd be willing to play a game with you." Sakura had turned around fully this time. Leo had gestured to the place opposite him. "It's not as enjoyable to just play oneself."

"Y-You can do that?" Sakura had hesitantly walked up to the table, placing her hand on the edge of it to better survey the board.

"Well, if you want to practice, yes." Leo had frowned slightly. "Not the most amusing of pursuits, perhaps, but useful."

"Useful?" 

"It helps you see your own weaknesses, and so on." Leo had waved a hand in the general direction of the board. Sakura had scanned the board, but hadn't been able to figure out what weaknesses he had meant. The pieces were essentially deadlocked. 

"What do you think?" She had looked back up at Leo at his words. He had nodded at the board in front of him, and the chair opposite. "I am a fair player."

"I… I don't know if I'm g-good enough to play you." Sakura had flushed at the words, unable to pull her eyes from the board.

He had snorted. She remembered this because she remembered being surprised - surprised that he could make such a noise, one without any vestige of regality. "I do not expect you to be an expert. But any small game is interesting." 

"Well…" Sakura had bit her lip. "I mean... I don't know."

Leo had blinked at her slowly. "Well then. Give it some thought."

Sakura had pushed some hair behind her ear, and then let it fall forwards as though it could shield her face from his piercing eyes. She distinctly remembered feeling glad when he had redirected his gaze to the board, had begun to deliberate with a black knight in his fingers.

"Milord." 

Sakura had jumped, but Leo hadn't flinched. "What is it?" 

A man had slunk out from between the tent flaps, pausing only momentarily to take in Sakura standing at Leo's shoulder. "Oh. Lady Sakura."

Sakura had bit her lip. She had known who he was, of course. Niles. Archer, white-haired, with a eye patch. Her brothers had (both, separately, in no uncertain terms and with no apparent knowledge that the other was doing so) told her to stay far away from him. Even though these words were the first he had spoken to her, Sakura had felt immediately uneasy. His voice was slick, and his gaze on her felt… Sakura had felt her cheekbones growing warm, but not pleasantly so.

Niles still hadn't pulled his gaze from her. "This is… a surprise." Sakura had immediately looked at the table, feeling acutely on display, as though his very gaze was mocking.

"What do you want, Niles?" Leo had said brusquely.

"Oh, no, milord. I wouldn't want to interrupt while you're… busy." Sakura had flinched slightly, feeling the heat spread from her cheeks to her neck to the tips of her ears. Gods. She had never known someone's words could make her feel so shameful. 

"It's fine." Leo had set down the knight he had been toying with and frowned at his retainer. "Speak."

"Hmm." Niles had let the noise peter off into a low hum in his throat, his lone exposed eye resting on Sakura still. "This isn't a conversation topic for sweet little lambs."

Leo had paused, glanced between his retainer and Sakura. Sakura had stiffened once again at Niles's comment, shoulders pulling upwards slightly as though to protect herself. "Fine. What is it you wish to discuss?"

"Perhaps outside would be better, milord?" Niles tilted his head backwards to indicate the tent's entrance behind him. "You know what they say about little pitchers."

Leo had frowned again. "I am sure Princess Sakura is capable of hearing what you have to say. Particularly since there are now no secrets between Hoshido and Nohr."

"Hm." Niles's mouth had curved into a smile that reminded Sakura uncannily of a sickle's blade. "Oh my. Not a single thing between you? How naughty."

Sakura had squeaked out loud, both hands flying up to cover her face, which she could guess was exactly the same color as her hair. He hadn't meant that. He couldn't have meant that. She was going to explode with shame and embarrassment and - what if people had heard him?

"Niles!" Leo had pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath. "Gods. Do you have no sense of shame?"

"None, milord."

"Apologize to Princess Sakura." The words were sharp, but Sakura hadn't seen Leo's expression, her eyes too busy shut against the world, as though a temporary blindness would remove her from this situation.

"Milord." A breath. "My apologies, Lady Sakura. I hope I caused no offense. Though I am sure Lord Leo will thank me for getting to see you in such a… vulnerable position." 

Sakura had not been able to keep herself from squeaking audibly, though this one was softer. Shame, fear, and the utter sense that she was just as vulnerable as Niles had said, pervaded her. Hinoka would not have acted like this - Hinoka would have walked right up to Niles and scolded him, or threatened him with her naginata, or something equally dramatic. Hinoka certainly would not have been cowering. Sakura had hunched slightly, wishing herself desperately away.

"Niles." Leo's voice had been sharp. "That's enough." 

"My apologies, milord." 

"Go. Now. Just - just wait outside for me." 

Sakura had not heard Leo speak so brusquely before, but she had focused more on the rustle of clothes and the familiar cloth-on-cloth sound of someone walking through the tent flaps.

"Please - accept my apologies." His voice had been quieter, and she heard the apology in his tone as much as she heard it in his words. "He does mean well, even if I know it seems nothing like it right now."

Sakura hadn't moved her hands from her face. 

"Princess Sakura." 

Sakura had moved her fingers two inches downwards to see Leo staring straight at her, entreatingly. She had immediately covered her eyes again. Gods. He was so attractive, and she was here, red as a radish, too scared to even face mere words head-on. 

"I know his words are entirely unacceptable in the situation, and, believe me, he will be punished for his rudeness to a member of royalty."

Sakura had shaken her head quickly, hands suddenly falling at his words. "O-Oh - th-that's -" 

"He will be." Leo had nodded sharply, eyes dark.

"Oh, n-no." Sakura had shaken her head quickly again, "W-Wait. H-He doesn't n-need to be p-punished. I - I don't-"

Leo had paused. "But you are so upset."

"N-No!" Sakura had flushed darker at Leo's sudden jolt of surprise. "I-I mean… H-He sh-shouldn't be punished f-for my sake. H-He was just…"

"He insulted you," Leo had said bluntly. "Didn't he?"

"W-Well." Sakura covered her face again, willing her words to be steady, even though she could feel shame pooling in her gut at the thought of saying them. "W-Well, y-yes, b-but I don't b-believe he meant - I mean, I'm - I sh-shouldn't be so s-sensitive."

"So… sensitive." Leo had said the words with little emotion, as though trying to figure out which one he should attach to them.

"I - I mean, I've b-been told that I should get b-better at t-taking criticism," Sakura had said, and though she immediately knew she was rambling, she had not been able to stop herself from continuing. "A-And I'm sure I'm j-just overreacting to h-his words, I just am not used to - to, um, to hearing that, and -"

"I will be speaking to him, Princess Sakura. You have my word." Sakura had met Leo's eyes again. She could see the resolve in his features. Despite her red face, and the humiliation that had caused it, Sakura hadn't been able to stop herself from subconsciously recognizing how elegantly his features wore resolve - the way his eyes narrowed slightly, the set of his jaw. 

"I - I don't w-want him to be p-punished," Sakura had whispered, still stuck on the point from before.

Leo had huffed, shaking his head. "Gods. You get blatantly insulted by a retainer of a rival royal family and you beg for mercy on his behalf." Sakura hadn't realized he was almost smiling until he faced her fully on once again.

"Um." Sakura hadn't been sure how to respond to his words, so she opted to stay silent.

His expression had grown more serious. "How do you manage to fight in this war when you can show care to even those who insult you grievously?"

"I - I'm not quite sure," Sakura had responded, voice small, and eyes on the chess board that still had sat between them. Her gaze rested on the line of discarded pieces Leo had apparently cast aside during his game. "I just - I just know I have to save as many as I can. And being here is the easiest way to do that."

"Heh." Sakura had looked up to see him smiling slightly at her again. "You truly believe yourself to be sensitive?"

"What?" Sakura had blinked at him. 

"You do the thing that gives you the most pain over and over again - you expose yourself to others' grief and suffering all the time, don't you?"

Sakura had sucked in a breath at the evaluation. "That's - I need to do what I can."

"Your capacity for empathy is hardly to be believed," Leo had mused, and though he had looked at her, Sakura could tell he was thinking of something else.

"It's nothing special," Sakura had said softly, feeling pinned in place by his gaze.

Unexpectedly, he had smiled at her again, and Sakura had felt yet another wave of heat spread across her face at the softness she could see in his eyes. "Please, Lady Sakura, I entreat you to accept my apologies."

She had swallowed. "I - Yes. I accept your apologies."

"I am glad." Leo had suddenly stood without warning. "And now. For the talking-to I promised you."

He was halfway out the door before Sakura had stopped him. "P-Prince Leo!" 

"Yes?" 

"Um. Please - Please be nice to him."

Leo had let out another disbelieving snort. "You are hardly to be believed, Princess Sakura."

"That's - "

"It's a compliment." Leo had let the words hang in the air for a second before smiling briefly at her and letting the tent flaps swing shut behind him.

"A compliment?" Sakura had asked the air in front of her. Nothing had responded.

He had taken her to the strategy tent the next time Corrin had called a meeting to plan their next move, and Sakura had gone willingly for the first time. 

The candles had flickered around them, a semicircle of nobles of mixed blood surrounding a table spread with maps. Corrin had worried his lip while Ryoma and Xander had exchanged pointed barbs across the painted mass of Hoshido. Camilla had been running her fingers through her purple mass of hair while her eyes flicked between the two crown princes. Takumi had been standing somewhere to the backmost corner of the tent, sulking about something Sakura had pointedly ignored. Hinoka had stood next to Ryoma, fingers drumming impatiently on the table as she had looked carefully between all the others. Leo had been standing directly before the depiction of Nohr, considering. Sakura had hesitantly positioned herself somewhere between Hinoka and Leo, slightly away from the table.

"This is where we should be heading." Xander's finger had traced a path on the map that Sakura couldn't quite see because of Hinoka. 

"You seriously think you know the safest path through Hoshido?" Ryoma's voice had rumbled warningly. "Out of all of us?"

"Considering that Nohrian spies have had least trouble with this path, yes." 

Sakura had winced to see Ryoma's expression darken further, to hear Takumi mutter, audibly, "Typical Nohrian scum."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Camilla had smiled poisonously. "Did I hear you say something, Prince Takumi?"

"Leave it alone, Takumi," Hinoka had said shortly, and then, to Ryoma, "Are there any other paths we could agree on?"

Corrin had stepped towards the map only seconds before Leo had turned to look at Sakura. "Do you have any ideas, Princess Sakura?"

Sakura had frozen, suddenly the center of attention. "I-I, um."

"Don't pull her into this," Hinoka had said sharply. "Corrin, you were going to say something?"

"Don't ignore the input your sister has," Leo had interrupted again. "As a healer, it is likely that she has traveled paths that her supervisors have found safe enough for those who cannot defend themselves. Ergo, it's likely she knows a better path than a warrior."

Sakura had felt the second lash of shock due to everyone's gazes fixing upon her for the second time in less than two minutes. The flash of burning in her face, the sudden sweat on her palms, the sick drop of her stomach, the fear of uselessness. "I - um, I don't know if I have any - anything helpful to s-say."

"It's okay, Sakura." Corrin had smiled at her, his white hair almost translucent in the candlelight. "Anything is helpful."

"Don't worry." Ryoma, his face set, but his eyes reassuring. "Come closer so you can see better." 

Sakura's gaze had flitted from their faces (reassuring), to Hinoka's (warm, inviting) to Leo's (something slightly heavier, something uncommonly like respect). She had walked, hands gripping her sleeves, forward two steps to see the map at a better angle. Desperately avoiding Xander's gaze, which settled on the top of her head like a weight, she had edged closer to Hinoka and had surveyed the map spread out in front of her.

"This was Xander's suggestion," Leo had said, voice suddenly very close to her left ear. His hand had stretched out past her to trace an imaginary line through the mountains, his sleeve brushing her forearm. He moved away from her a few centimeters, hand moving in a different direction. "This is your brother's."

Sakura had paused, both at the sudden closeness of the man and the sudden realization that she had walked through the mountains before. It had been winter, last time. Subaki had shaken a branch as he had flown above them, showing off, and had dumped snow all over Hana, who had gone red and white and furious, shrieked about her numb hands but nailed Subaki with a snowball nonetheless. The trees had been bare; the sky had been the same white-grey as the snow. The air had been so cold that Sakura had worn layer after layer of white and red and pink, and Subaki had found an 'extra' pair of lined gloves in his pack that she had forced him to take back after she caught him walking without gloves on.

"Hm. Princess Hinoka, any ideas?" The question had jolted Sakura back to reality, as her sister cleared her throat uncomfortably at Camilla's question.

"Um," Sakura had said quietly.

"Well, I'm not sure… I generally ride my pegasi straight through," Hinoka had said from right behind Sakura. "I mean, land paths aren't normally my speciality."

"Um," Sakura had tried again, still unwilling to look up and attract the attention she knew she needed.

"I believe Princess Sakura is trying to say something," Leo had cut in. 

There it had been, again - the pressure of the gazes of many. She hadn't needed to look up to feel it, to flush slightly once again. Sakura had forced herself to take a breath, deeper than she normally did. "Um, I have - I've been through here before, and, um, it's a path that works for both riders and for - for walking troops."

"Really?" Corrin's voice was accompanied by a clink of metal as he moved closer. "Where?"

"If you go th-through here," Sakura had reached out, wrist thin in contrast to the thick metal plates surrounding Ryoma's hands, and indicated a mountain pass. "If you do that, you can just take the way along the river."

"Yeah…" Hinoka, nodding, behind her. "I think I've been through there before. It has good cover for fliers."

"Aha." And on his voice had been a smile, one that Sakura could hear instead of see, and she had felt that jolt of pleased pride that shot through her more and more around him. Leo's hand had rested on her shoulder. "That sounds excellent. Thank you, Princess Sakura."

"It's -It's nothing." Sakura had dropped her gaze to her feet - or where her feet would be below the wood of the table in front of her - and had fought a smile. "I'm h-happy to help."

"Sakura, thank you." Ryoma's voice. "And - Prince Leo - I appreciate your insight as well."

"I only take note of those around me." Leo had shrugged; she had felt it through his hand, still resting on her shoulder, had seen it when she turned slightly backwards to look at his face. "You should encourage her to participate more in this. I think you'll find she has a lot to say."

Sakura had immediately drew in a quick breath of pleasure, face warming. Leo had met her glance back at him with the slightest curving of his lips, and she had immediately looked at the ground again. When she had turned her gaze back to her brother - her brothers - she had seen Ryoma's expression flick between surprise, confusion, pride, and worry. Corrin's eyebrows had raised, and Sakura had noticed him staring between the two of them, back and forth. Takumi had snorted in the background, but Sakura had known this was directed at Leo and not at her.

"Well, then. If Leo agrees with the suggestion tactically, I will accede here." Xander had crossed his arms. "I suppose you know what you are talking about, Princess Sakura."

Sakura had stiffened, shoulders rising slightly, defensively.

"Of course she does," Hinoka had said sharply, at the same time as Ryoma had snapped, "Do not doubt my sister."

"You can trust her decision," Leo had said decisively. "She has good tactical sense."

"High praise," Xander had said, eyebrows raising.

"I give it to those who deserve it," Leo had said, and again Sakura had sucked in a breath of surprised joy, had fought the ballooning sensation in her chest, the pull of her lips upwards.

She thought of poetry she had read last spring in an attempt to remain calm. "A leaf in water / you have sent ripples through me." She thought of how much of a cliché she was, how many other love stories and fairy tales she had read as a child, where a princess falls in love with the wrong prince. 

Months passed. Battle after battle was fought. Sakura had stayed in the background, content to staunch wounds, whisper prayers, wrap herself in her work and her desperate attempts to save all who came close to her. Blood had perpetually stained the knees of her outfit from kneeling beside the wounded. She had waved her staff until her arms could barely lift it; she had cried herself to sleep when those in her care had perished in front of her. The work had tested her mettle to a level beyond anything else ever had. When she had not been perpetually chanting a feverish prayer to the Dawn Dragon, to please - please - please - please keep them all safe, she had been repeating the same words aloud above the men and women who groaned as she tried to heal them.

Sakura had watched, a figure in the background, as a dark knight rode through the battlefield, over and over, casting his hands out in front of him so trees themselves bent to his command. But Leo had never passed into her care, and so Sakura had spent month after month after month toiling several steps behind him, willing to put her thoughts aside for the sake of the dying and the bereaved.

Soon, the war ended. Sakura had caught his eye after the battle, but he had been speaking to one of his retainers, and she had had the wounded to attend to - for, of course, soldiers's wounds did not stop for celebrations. They had exchanged, as all the royal siblings had, a calm proclamation of alliance after the dragon had finally been vanquished. And then he had ridden away to Nohr, and Sakura had mounted Subaki's pegasus and let him carry her back to Castle Shirasagi. And Sakura had promised herself it was over. 

But Ryoma had walked into her room at the shrine one day to inform her they were formally invited to Prince - King - Xander's coronation. And, once again, Sakura had seen Leo.

And in the end, the strange part wasn't his hands on her, him gazing into her eyes, the music rhythmically spinning out its normal four part beat. It wasn't his crown, her heavy ornamental robes, or the way that her feet kept making the correct movements. It was just the moment, the totality of it all - the strange knowledge that she was leaving something. 

He was gorgeous. Sakura knew that, objectively. Subjectively, as well. His formal wear suited him well. His circlet, black obsidian, glinted in the candlelight; his gloves were the most clean of whites she had seen. 

This was the story she told herself when no one was listening: There was a princess, and there was a prince. The prince wore black, cast spells so powerful the ground shuddered below him when he walked upon it. The princess wore white, cast spells so powerful the wounds of others closed around her when she lifted her rod. And they had fallen in love, over books, over long marches, over shared meals, over laughter and over tears. Their differences had made no difference to them. 

And in the end, their families would relent to have them married, and the prince would dance with the princess into the night, and they would be happy. Or their families would never relent to their marriage, so they eloped together, ran somewhere far away and lived together happily. Or their families forced them apart, but they had escaped to find one another, or killed themselves for their love in romantic ways, or pined for one another until they were both on their deathbeds. But the prince and the princess were in love. And no one could deny that.

But in life, it was not so simple. Sakura told herself stories, but in the daylight - yes, even in the candlelight - she knew with certainty that the long robes of Hoshidan royalty would suit him ill, and that the pinching corsets and swathes of Nohrian skirts would never look good on her. 

But in her stories - her self-stories, the little bits of medication she doled out to herself instead of curative spells - in stories there was a prince and a princess, and that was all.

And then the music came to its last reverbing chord and the dance stopped, abruptly, with her forward motion pushing her slightly into his chest. 

"Ah, I'm so sorry," she said immediately, pulling back and then stopping when she felt his hands offer her a slight resistance, one at her back and one at her hand. "Um."

"It's me who should apologize," Leo said, hands still unmoving. "I should have ended the last step smoother."

"No, no," Sakura said quickly. 

The warmth of his hand was getting warmer on her back, even through her layers of robes, and the gloved hand in her own was solid, hadn't twitched though she could acutely feel the prick of a gaze on her back. They were near the outskirts of the dancing floor, but they were frozen in place, and Leo's eyes were still on her own, and they weren't moving, and she could hear a whisper, could tell people were noticing. 

"L-Leo?" Sakura said. His eyes softened slightly. 

"Yes?" 

"I - I think the dance is over." 

He smiled, eyes tilting upwards slightly as he did so. "I think I know that, Princess Sakura."

"Um." Sakura could feel the red creeping up her cheeks, rolling down her neck, across her ears. His eyes on hers, the closeness of their waists, the way one of his legs was slightly between her robes. "We should probably - probably get out of the way."

"Probably," Leo agreed amicably, still smiling.

He didn't move. Sakura fidgeted, moving her shoulders slightly as though to pull away from him, but again she felt resistance - again his hand pushed her slightly back into place.

"Prince Leo," she said formally, now looking at his chest because his gaze was making her cheeks burn, "I - I think we should get out of the way."

"Why?" 

"What?" Sakura glanced up at him.

He tilted his head slightly, raised an eyebrow. "Why do we need to move out of the way? Aren't we royalty? Technically, others should be moving around us."

Sakura began to pull back again, uncomfortable. The murmurs were getting louder. "I - even if we are royalty, there are things that must - must be maintained. And - it's impolite to just stand here. And - and I'm sure you have other people to dance with, not just me."

"What if I don't feel like dancing?" Leo made the barest of shrugs, still not releasing her. His gaze was heavier now, and Sakura began to wonder what they were talking about. "Isn't it the royals who set the agenda?"

"R-Royalty have an obligation first to their people," Sakura responded, heart suddenly pounding in her chest. "And - and others want to dance here. W-We need to move."

"To their people…" Leo paused, eyes dark. "So, tell me, Princess Sakura, does this mean I should bend my every wish to suit those around me? To give up what I would want for a nameless, faceless crowd who see me as third in line to a throne?"

"What you would - " Sakura bit off that line of thinking. His eyes were still on her own. The murmurs were louder, but she paid them less attention. 

Dawn Dragon, she thought, and gods above, give me the strength to do this. 

"Isn't - Isn't it you who said that we're all in the end just pawns of fate?" Sakura said, slowly, painfully. "And - isn't it our duty as royals to take the fate we are given, and take it w-without complaint?"

"Duty." Leo said the word slowly, as though tasting it. "And what, exactly, do you believe this duty entails?"

Sakura swallowed. "I'm - I'm a priestess. My position is mostly c-ceremonial, but generally priestess aren't allowed to, to, um, to marry. I mean, it's just a ceremonial position, but… It's also tradition that they don't - they don't marry."

"No marriage?" Leo's eyebrows rose. "And what does marriage have to do with leaving a dancing floor?"

"That's…" Sakura flushed, both at his expression and his tone.

He smiled. "However, if marriage is something you are not considering, I would beg you to reconsider."

"Ah," Sakura said intelligently, blood rushing to her face. 

Leo smiled again, and its edge was twisted slightly, as though he was biting back a smirk. "Princesses are useful bargaining tools in peacetime. You could make alliances, you know. Rather, your marriage could, really."

Sakura's stomach dropped, this time in confusion. Had she misinterpreted? Was he just advising her? Was there nothing else, no subtext? But his eyes were practically winking at her in their repressed amusement.

Her silence apparently prompted him to speak. "Don't look so upset, Princess Sakura. You see, I happen to know of a person who would love to make an alliance with Hoshido."

"I - I don't know what you mean." Sakura rolled her shoulders again, shifting her weight as much as she could.

"Oh, I can imagine that you do," he said, and the pressure on her back increased just the slightest bit, so she had to take a half step forwards. They were inches away from one another, and Sakura drew in a breath when she looked up and his mouth was centimeters away from her face, his head bent to her own.

"You see," he said, conspiratorially, as though he wasn't holding her in an altogether improper fashion in front of half of the courts of both of their royal houses, and causing her cheeks to flush as red as her hair, "You see, Princess Sakura, I happen to know another royal family. Relations between them and Hoshido have been less than good, but they are rather decent now, and they would like to improve upon that. The first son is married, of course, but there's a second son. Second in line to the throne, now, too."

"Um." Sakura attempted, almost gasping, but was cut off again.

"The family in question has agreed already, and the King of Hoshido may or may not have let slip that he would be fine with the arrangement" (and Sakura did gasp this time) "and so, really, at this point, there's only formalities. But formalities are important things."

"L-Leo," She tried again, mouth struggling to form words in the face of the sudden deluge of information, of emotion that was flooding her and causing her throat to tighten and her heart to beat and, dear gods, these were symptoms of cardiac arrest, except she felt wonderful, floating, dizzy, giddy. 

"So, I suppose I must formally mention the man in question is Crown Prince Leo the First of Nohr, wielder of Brynhyldr, second in line to the Nohrian throne - and there are more titles, but I will make it brief - and he is asking for your hand in marriage."

Sakura lost her breath. Leo was smiling just above her, and the world seemed to have slowed to a standstill. And she took her breath in again and everything moved, all at once, again.

He released her. Her hand hovered in the air where he had dropped it, cooling at the loss of his touch. Her face was still warm. "Give it some thought."

The crowd was talking now, not just murmuring. Sakura stood, dazed, for a second.

(And in her stories, there was a wedding. A confection of white and red and ridiculous colors, with cherry blossoms floating down as they exchanged sips of sake, or the rings Nohrians wore, or kisses, or all three. And all the siblings were there, and Elise cried, but Hinoka sobbed harder, ugly crying in the front rows, and Ryoma was clearing his throat uncomfortably to hide the fact that he was also feeling emotional, and even Takumi begrudgingly congratulated them, and Xander suddenly stopped scaring her, and Camilla patted her on the head. And Leo was at her side, and his eyes on her own, and his hand in her own, and his crown matching hers.) 

"Leo," she said, breathlessly. And the figure in front of her turned around, his black cape flicking slightly around him as he did so.

"Yes?" 

Sakura crossed the floor up to him, and though her robes were heavy she felt like floating. "Leo - yes."

(And in real life, Sakura knew, it was better than her stories ever were.)


End file.
